What do you get out of NorthwestFirearms forum?

[Mikej]

Nah, not to that point yet

Honestly, the good still outweighs the bad. The response to my message has been overwhelmingly supportive, with a lot of members who wrote this place off indicating that they'll be coming back. That's the problem with forums, once a handful of members are allowed to change the mood people stop visiting. When people stop visiting the voices of that handful of members inundate the forum with the same sort of discussion, alienating more people, and it snowballs. While we do have our share of trolls here, I don't think most of these people who alienate others truly know what they're doing, they're just passionately voicing their opinions. I think yesterday's message was probably a wake up call to quite a few people, and historically a simple message (or book, rather) is enough to have a big impact. For 99% of our members, the only change they'll notice is this place getting more civil, respectful, welcoming, and positive. For the other 1% (some of whom are popular members, unfortunately), they're probably better off finding somewhere else to call home.

I still don't understand why people get butt hurt because of something they read on here deciding that the the entire membership isn't worth their time? So many people here, and I know for a fact that information is available on everything gun related (Life in general too) that it seems foolish to write the whole forum off because of a few people someone thinks are dicks. Maybe it's a personality flaw? I feel sorry for them, if that's the case. They are the ones missing out.

 

[Ruger Rich]

Like cigars, I only have and use this social media platform. When I was much younger I attended church with my family and occasionally had to stand and give a testimonial. This feels similar. I was introduced here through a member and excellent friend. There have been a few times I've regretted being here. I stayed because of the accumulated knowledge and experience of others on here, and I'm speaking of firearms. I've learned so much just by reading things on here. I'm 100% American (not just because I was born here). I believe in this country and dearly love it. For me, being "American" means respecting others. Sometimes that concept has been a bit thin on this site. I stayed because of my passion for firearms. And reading others with political thoughts different than mine would be an education of sorts. I try to understand. When I first got here I was pretty good with bolt guns and revolvers (old time, eh?). Since then I've graduated and now am pursuing Stoner platform guns and semi-auto pistols ( I stay away from striker fired guns). I look forward to this new direction and say thanks to Joe for taking the step.

 

[Cogs]

NWFA is the one tab on my browser that's always open.

That browser tab has replaced the TV! I never watch TV anymore, but that browser tab is always there!

 

[Wombat of Doom]

I came looking for advice on fixing some jamming issue on something and lurked awhile. Joined up and learned a lot. Met some good people. Discovered I have insane tastes and that I like weird NFA thingies, and weird guns from long ago. But for me, it is the people.

 

[teflon6string]

Ten-year member. What do I get from NWFA? In no particular order:

- Leads to repairs and elusive parts. Ideas and solutions.
- Shooting locations, status and cleanup efforts.
- Gun sales/purchases and trades.
- Ammo trends/availability.
- Tech advice, skill and safety tips.
- Humor. anecdotes, hobbies, inspiration and motivation.
- Community resources/advice well beyond shooting.
- Annoyance with one self-appointed "moderator" behaving as if NWFA is his own facebook page.
- Friendship/camaraderie, genuine goodness, mutual support and insight.
- Info about the war on the Second Amendment.
- Gun show announcements and summaries.
- Wisdom of fellow citizens. Varied perspectives on the pulse of public opinion.

Even when I disagree (sometimes sharply) with any of the opinions I find here, NWFA usually provides reassurance that I'm not the only one who thinks or feels any certain way. Thus, NWFA serves as a welcome and therapeutic reminder that none of us is totally alone.

 

[DunRanull]

Not much anymore, since freedom to discuss social issues has been squelched. Th-th-th-th-that's all, folks.

 

[No_Regerts]

I got pals.

 

[DB is Here]

I got pals.

You spelt palsy wrong...

 

[No_Regerts]

You spelt palsy wrong...

So I sttutttter when I tttype...

 

[Spitpatch]

Until about a year ago, our local gun shop (out in the boonies with no street traffic) served double-duty as an anchor for social life of many hunters/shooters/collectors. On Friday night each week at 6pm the "OPEN" sign was flipped to "CLOSED", and the party (pun intended) faithful broke out pizza, chicken, game meat treats, chips, dips and the "occasional" adult beverage. Word got out, and a respectable number of women became regulars.

It was an environment that was safe for all. Debates would rage, notes compared, and oh, the stories.

The proprietor became over the years an intimate friend. (This from a guy who for good reason avoids very many of those.)

He passed away suddenly last summer. The shop closed. The cadre does its best to gather when we can, but it will never be the same.

NWFA is part of my toolkit to deal with that.

 

[No_Regerts]

Until about a year ago, our local gun shop (out in the boonies with no street traffic) served double-duty as an anchor for social life of many hunters/shooters/collectors. On Friday night each week at 6pm the "OPEN" sign was flipped to "CLOSED", and the party (pun intended) faithful broke out pizza, chicken, game meat treats, chips, dips and the "occasional" adult beverage. Word got out, and a respectable number of women became regulars.

It was an environment that was safe for all. Debates would rage, notes compared, and oh, the stories.

The proprietor became over the years an intimate friend. (This from a guy who for good reason avoids very many of those.)

He passed away suddenly last summer. The shop closed. The cadre does its best to gather when we can, but it will never be the same.

NWFA is part of my toolkit to deal with that.

Did you just call us a bunch of tools?

 

[Siglvr]

Guns are a minuscule part of my personal life. However, I feel they are a significantly important part of our country's life and thus, important to me. Being on NWFA reinforces that importance. Lots of great folks on this board and it's nice to see others with similar viewpoints, or able to discuss opposing views in a rational manner. I enjoy the skill involved in good shooting much like some others enjoy bowling or golf I suppose.....always have.

Thanks Joe Link and everyone who helps make it what it is, or has been anyway.

 

[2thdrglock]

I'll tell you what I got… I got a life! In other words, it has changed my life! (Perhaps I could rephrase that to read: The people on this NWFA forum have changed my life!)

I now have a focus and direction I never would have conceived a few years back.

When I joined, in 2012, I had been away from gun ownership for 40 years. I hadn't given it much thought during that time, but always remembered the fun days of plinking varmints, coyotes, and game hunting as a kid. My focus was on climbing the corporate ladder, raising a family, playing golf and going fishing.

One day, my youngest son asked to go deer hunting and it rekindled those special memories of hunting with my dad and brothers. So, I joined NWFA to refresh my memory on hunting techniques, where to go around my area and if Black Tail are any different to hunt than Mule Deer.

I started hearing from people who were welcoming, courteous, helpful, and encouraging. I liked it here and felt very comfortable communicating with total strangers because I sensed a brotherhood of mutual love and respect for the second amendment and these people were just darn nice to me. Little did I know, my life would soon begin to take on a new focus and direction.

Many of you know what direction I have gone and what my focus has become, but for those who don't, let me tell you the who, what, and why of it.

I took my son out to a public forest to teach him how to use a rifle for hunting. We got out of the truck and were both in shock from the volume of trash at a target shooting site in the forest. IN THE FOREST! What the heck? It was a real eye opener for me. I was expecting something more like my childhood memories of shooting on our own ranch. We never took trash out on our ranch, shot it up and then left it there! I expected a clean place to shoot, just like nature should be… natural!

I posted my frustration on NorthwestFirearms and promptly received lots of replies of mutual feelings. I started to get a sense that this stuff is happening in all forests throughout Oregon and Washington. I wanted to do something about it and decided perhaps I could do a little something in my own back yard.

I shot an email off to the forest agency managing the forest I was in and asked them; if I could get a few of us hunters and gun owners together to clean it up, could they help with the disposal cost? They were super excited and responded with a positive YES! Beyond that, they will supply the trash bags, gloves and provide insurance for anyone if an injury happened. I posted this news to the NWFA forum and said let's get together and go do this! The response was awesome!

My first cleanup was so much fun! We had 35 people attend, cleaned up about 4 shooting sites and when we were done, everyone brought out their toys and we blew the place apart! Of course, we had to do a second cleanup of our own mess, but, it was so much fun we all wanted to do it again.

And so it began. Cleanup after cleanup, lots of volunteers meeting and greeting, sharing and enjoying each other's company. And the group shoots were always a blast!

One day, the owner of NWFA, @Joe Link , asked me if I would consider becoming the Volunteer Coordinator for NWFA. I almost turned it down because I was no authority and was a bit shy, but thought, okay why not! It shouldn't be much more than what I'm already doing! (The direction of my life was becoming a little more focused now. Thanks Joe!)

After a couple years, it became apparent to me that this effort, encouraging responsible target shooting on public lands, could, and should, be a bigger deal. I wanted to reach out to more gun owners and public land shooters all over the Northwest. This forum is a perfect platform for that, however, it was missing an important element that was needed to move the cause to the next level… An independent non-profit C-3 organization to qualify for grants, open doors with forest management agencies and gain corporate support through donations. I felt it could forward the cause for positive change.

So, I started Trash No Land, a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization focused on the goals of promoting responsible shooting on public lands and saving our good places to shoot.

Since then, the members of this forum have been my primary source of motivation and encouragement, as well as, my biggest volunteers! I have met many great people here who give their time, resources, thoughts, ideas and fellowship! I really look forward to renewing those acquaintances and making new ones along the way. (I have also had the unique opportunity to shoot so many guns I will never be able to own in my lifetime! From Full Auto to 50 cals! It's been awesome!)

So my life has changed because of this forum and the members of NorthwestFirearms! There's no better family than the gun owner family who live here and I'm thankful for that. Thank you for giving me encouragement to pursue a passion you helped to develop!

Note: The Trash No Land organization is not affiliated with NorthwestFirearms. I am only a member here who started a separate non-profit. I appreciate the opportunity to communicate on this forum and value it as an integral part of furthering the cause for improving the shooting sports on public lands.

I'm sure this forum has touched most of us in one way or another. Perhaps you could share your experience of what you have gained from this forum?

Bill

Signed up for event notices...

 

[Vendor Hidden]

I confess I've not visited NWFA frequently in the last few months, but it's mainly because the politics of virus hysteria killed my home-based design business AND my residential rental business, and since I have no money (we're living off our savings mostly) it was just too painful to visit a site where I would inevitably find myself wanting to buy something I couldn't afford.

The politics part? Meh. I've got a thick skin and words don't bother me, so that's not a problem in my view, but I understand the desire to focus on guns and 2A and keep the divisive shenanigans to a minimum.

I've never met any of you, but I have the sense that if our paths ever crossed, we'd end up talking for hours over pizza and beer. And, hopefully, stick Stomper with the bill.

I'm hoping the CRAZY that has seized this country (and to a lesser extent, NWFA) will settle down some and sanity will return. It's a weird time for all of us, and I'd hate to see NWFA added to the list of casualties.

Cheers!

 

[2thdrglock]

Question to nobody in particular...
Did we all get personally addressed messages? Was wondering if I "made a list" that was singled out to receive the information. I didn't think so, but?
On one of my favorite motorcycle forums that was started and owned by a riding buddy, had a system of "points" or "demerits" and if you accumulated too many you were temporarily deactivated. Seemed to work well...

 

[Bob D]

Question to nobody in particular...
Did we all get personally addressed messages? Was wondering if I "made a list" that was singled out to receive the information. I didn't think so, but?
On one of my favorite motorcycle forums that was started and owned by a riding buddy, had a system of "points" or "demerits" and if you accumulated too many you were temporarily deactivated. Seemed to work well...

Seeing as I am a completely irrelevant nobody here and I got one, I am certain that we all got individual copies of the same message. It ensures that each person gets a notification, and allows the zookeepers to confirm which of us animals have or have not read it.

EDIT: All respect to the zookeepers, That was only intended as a bit of self-deprecating humor.

 

[Mikej]

Question to nobody in particular...
Did we all get personally addressed messages? Was wondering if I "made a list" that was singled out to receive the information. I didn't think so, but?
On one of my favorite motorcycle forums that was started and owned by a riding buddy, had a system of "points" or "demerits" and if you accumulated too many you were temporarily deactivated. Seemed to work well...

Yes, you're the only one who got it. You trouble maker you.....

 

[2thdrglock]

Yes, you're the only one who got it. You trouble maker you.....

Busted again...
But my point was on the moto forum, members knew where they stood in following the forum rules...

 

[Mikej]

Busted again...

The first time I got one of these notes went out, I was like "Oh-oh, what'd I do now?"

 

[2thdrglock]

The first time I got one of these notes went out, I was like "Oh-oh, what'd I do now?"

Right?